Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1887-01-28
A FRIGHTFUL PLUNGE,
a LADY FALLS 400 FsET OVER A PRE-
CIPlCE WITHOUT INJURY.
She is Buried in the snow Bank on which
She strilte,- The Stage Coach and other
Occupants Caught in IA Crovice De-
tails of the independence Horror

CHICAGO, Jan 23-Mrs. Y. j. Townsley,
ohe Chicago badly who was the occupant OF
the stage coach that topped distance of
400 feet down Independence Pass, Colora-
do. last month, without sustaining us much
as scratch, arrived ia this city saturday.
Mrs Townsley is prepOssessing and about
% years old. Describing tine marvellous
incident, the details of which have not
before been printed, she says: At day
break on the morning of December IL,
I wills awakened at my hotel IN Lead
willie and informed that the Aspen
stage coach was waiting ior me. 1t was
bitter cold and it was showing so denselN
that the driver tad to help me to the
coach. had on II heavy double fold vel
vet dress a seal skin sacque and II buffalo
robe pinned over my shoulders. My head
was covered toy Il fur cap and my face en-
veloped i'm Il shawl allowing an aperture
for my eyes. Despite all the projections
I was frlghtfully cold The coach was
ItaWn by six horses ana was on vi heels. We
were preceded rs the granite coach which
was on runners.
The road over the Elk mountain is a
natural one that VIII admit Of but single
coach passing At The apex of the noun
tain the granite coach pulled in 2 station
blasted out OF the rock aud allowed us to
go ahead. Here the descent began, The
road at this point runs at an incline of
As degrees. The driver put on his lock
chain to the wheels, thus virtually CON
Vertlng them into runners. The vedlcle
despite these precautions went down at a
triEhtfu pace. We could barely keep our
seats. clung to the king pin and man
aged to keep myself right side up. Down
the narrow path on the side of the noun
tain we went with the horses on a mad
gallop to keep the coach from running
them down
We were rounding Independence Pass
when suddenly the driver cried, lump
Jump for your" he never finished the sen
tence. He had been holding the coach as
near the embankmeut as the narrow pass
would permit. Ahead of him he saw a
heavy boulder topple and fail down the
mountain side into the path. This.caused
him to make the cry OF warning. The
obstruction was but 20 yards ahead of
him and it was beyond human power to
stay the impetus the coach had gotten
coming down the incline. | saw the
driver leap. In side we held on to the
king pin. Down we went and in another
instant the forward wheels struck the
rock, the hind part of the coach was
brown forward AND outward and the
king PIN snapped sunder like a reed
The box with all in it went over the
precipce on its side and through the win
NIOh L ISL Jul. LESS lOl tllltlt lItiI NY
self the coach and my fellow tourists
lodged in a crevice on the side of the
Drecipce some $50 feet below the road. !
was thrown out with such force that |
cleare this crag and kept on aud down
full 400 feet to the bed of the canon and
into the bank of snow, cutting my way
into it as if ii was water head first.
The granite coach just to the rear of us
was pulled into the notch in the rocks and
the driver and some prospectors got out
and climbed down to where | had lodged.
Armed with shovels they began to dig me
out and 1t is curious to relate, the one
desh wound | received was from the
blade of a shovel which plowed furrow
IN my ankle when they reached me. |
was finally dug out unconscious and to
all appearances dead. Restoratives were
administered and ! was taken up and
carried to the toll house at the head of
the cliff. Here my hands and limbs were
rubbed, but all to no avail. | was black
in the face and there WAS no audible or
visible respiration. ! was left in the care
Of the toll keeper and the granite coach
passengers while the two drivers started
for Aspen, 10 miles distant, to summon
surgical aid. One of the party
returned at midnight with doctor, but
in the meantime had revived and had
in company with the toll keeper, gone
down in a sleigh to the dinner station
Jhree miles below, and was administering
to the wounded and the dying. All the
rest had sustained frightful injuries il
heir tall OF $50 teet,